Bald Head Island council hears storm recovery update

Village officials report life is getting closer to normal, 30 days past the torrential rains from Hurricane Florence that damaged hundreds of structures on Bald Head Island.

Village manager Chris McCall told council Friday that the debris management company had worked out a deal to store vegetative debris at a site owned by Bald Head Island Club. The company will eventually bring over a giant grinder the make mulch, which will be used in common areas.

McCall estimated the contractor would be dealing with 35,000 to 40,000 cubic yards of material. A standard dump truck holds 10 yards. The estimated cost for debris management, including feeding the first-responders for two weeks, is $220,000. The village hopes to get that money back from the state and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The village will also seek $44,000 for overtime and $32,000 for fuel for vehicles and water pumps. Village officials are still tabulating the costs and awaiting word from a FEMA project manager on their status. Read full article.

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)